History
On
September 2, 1609, Henry Hudson and the crew of his ship, Half
Moon, noticed Point Pleasant Beach on their way north to explore the
Hudson River. Crewmember, Robert Juet, noted in his journal, “This
is a very good Land to fall with and a pleasant Land to see.” The
Borough of Point Pleasant Beach was established 277 years later on
June 2, 1886.
Originally a seashore playground for the Leni Lanape Indians,
settlers arrived during the 1700’s. Fishermen and farmers by trade,
many owned hundreds of acres of land. Summer tourism began in the
early 1800’s, when Thomas Cook, Jr. opened his farmhouse on the site
of the current Antrim Elementary School to boarders. Soon, the four
or five other farm families who owned most of the local property
were also taking in guests. The fee of $8-12 a week for room and
board would often include meals and a wagon ride through the
cornfields to the beach. Visitors enjoyed the seclusion, cool sea
breezes, picnicking in cedar groves along the Manasquan River,
fishing and hunting. They probably did not drink or party, as Cook
and other early landowners were devout Quakers.
Captain John Arnold did the most to establish Point Pleasant
Beach as a destination for visitors in the 1870’s, when he retired
from a career at sea and bought land. In 1870, he built a roadway to
the ocean, now known as Arnold Avenue. In 1875, he was instrumental
in building the first bridge over the Manasquan River to Brielle.
Later, he convinced the Central Jersey Railroad to extend its
service to Point Pleasant Beach by giving it right-of-way, land for
a depot, and about $6,000 cash. On July 3, 1880, the first passenger
train rolled into Point Pleasant Beach.
The 1870’s was also an era of major tourism expansion, driven
by developers who subdivided old farms for vacation home lots.
Captain Arnold devised Arnold City between Central and what was to
become Arnold Avenue. In 1877, the Point Pleasant Land Company
bought the old Forman Farm, 250 acres on what is now Route 35 South,
between Forman and Elizabeth Avenues, and began selling lots. To
attract buyers, it built the Resort House in 1878 and began
horse-drawn trolley service for tourists.
The grand four-story, 200-guest Resort House was, by far, the
largest building in town. It featured shaded groves of oak and
locust, a velvet lawn and a commanding view of the beachfront dunes.
Inside, was a ballroom and bowling alley. About a half dozen other
gracious hotels were built before the turn-of-the-century. The
Leighton was the largest, located on the dunes between Forman and
Trenton Avenues. The Beacon Hotel, on 18 acres of oceanfront near
the Bay Head border, advertised the beneficial qualities of its
spring water. Zimmerman’s on Bay Avenue, now a residential hotel,
emphasized ’92 New York trains, 20 Philadelphia trains, trolley
lines, water works, electric light plants and no mosquitoes. Many of
these edifices, including the Resort House, burned to the ground,
while others succumbed to changing tastes in lodging. The Leighton
was dismantled for scrap wood during World War II.
Boardwalk enthusiasm came relatively late. In the earliest
years, visitors focused their attention on the Manasquan River,
cedar groves and farmhouses; but eventually, wanted to be near the
ocean. The first beachfront pavilion was constructed on Atlantic
Avenue in 1880. Ten years later, the first boardwalk was built—a
flimsy, portable structure. It washed away within two years.
Around 1892, visitors flocked to Clark’s Landing, the
original amusement area, on the Manasquan River in Point Pleasant.
It featured a merry-go-round with a steam organ and ice cream making
machine. In 1896, a small snack shack on the Manasquan Inlet served
coffee, sandwiches, ice cream and pie. In 1897, the decision for
privately owned beaches in Point Pleasant Beach was made when, as
noted in the August 16th Council minutes, “Ownership of the Beach
turned down by the Council because of the extreme cost to the
Borough for maintenance.”
The first permanent boardwalk, which ran between Philadelphia
and Central Avenues, came in 1915. It would eventually be expanded
to run the entire length of Point Pleasant Beach; but was shortened
to its present length by the hurricane of September 1938, which
destroyed the southern portion. The boardwalk was slowly transformed
from a place to stroll to an active amusement area. It was already
the long-time home of a merry-go-round and several other amusements
when, in the late 1920’s, Orlo Jenkinson built Jenkinson’s Pavilion
and Swimming Pool. The boardwalk pavilion became the place to go for
a night of sophisticated dancing to well-known big bands. Sometimes,
a live nationally broadcast radio hookup added to the excitement.
Nowadays, Point Pleasant Beach has a thriving downtown
business district, hosting diverse shopping experiences, as well as
premiere antique establishments. It is famous for its annual Seafood
Festival in September. The Boardwalk is home to a first class
aquarium, as well as rides, arcades and diverse dining experiences,
ranging from the traditional sausage sandwich to sushi.
